


The Power Behind the Throne

by needles



Series: Bokuaka Detective drabbles [68]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, OC, Risk of Drowning, Shirofuku Yukie - Freeform, Ushijima Wakatoshi - Freeform, Yamiji Takeyuki - Freeform, washio tatsuki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29930106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needles/pseuds/needles
Summary: The serial killer that kidnapped Konoha and Akaashi and buried them alive has been brought to justice. Bokuto is trying to move on after being turned down by Akaashi. But sometimes the past just won't let go.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: Bokuaka Detective drabbles [68]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116251
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	The Power Behind the Throne

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a bit long for a drabble but I didn't want to split it and leave you with a cliff-hanger.

Vladov sat, his TV playing a disregarded hockey match to itself, Vladov’s thoughts were elsewhere, a courtroom in DC. He picked up the bottle of vodka and poured himself another shot. It had been a lucrative partnership, a pity it was over. Her chances of acquittal were well-nigh non-existent. He was well aware of the reputation of Akaashi and his team. Juries, used to a diet of procedurals on TV, lapped up their forensic evidence like mother’s milk. A real sacred cow. Attempting to sabotage their investigation of her crimes by burying two of them alive had backfired on her badly. It had only provided them with more evidence against her.

His cell bleeped for a message and he pressed a button, reading the screen with resignation. _Guilty._ That was that then. Oh well, he had other fingers in other pies, all of them profitable enough. He would soon make up the loss of this little partnership. Not that it didn’t rankle. He was used to winning his small battles with the law. A wry smile flickered across his face; of course his mole there had no idea of his connection to her. He liked to keep his eggs in separate baskets, that way when one got broken the rest could hatch into nice plump geese that laid golden eggs of their own.

An hour later his phone rang again. He answered. As he listened to the voice at the other end a satisfied smile crept over his face. This had possibilities, definite possibilities. If not for making money, for vengeance; and that was his favourite dish, served cold of course.

“Tell her I’m interested, get me the details,” he spoke tersely into the phone before ending the call. It seemed the prospect of life in jail had only whetted his former partner’s appetite for revenge. In fact it seemed she had prepared for it in advance.

“Thanks for giving me a lift to the airport Bokuto san.”

“No point in us both driving Akaashi, not when we’re both catching planes,” he replied, pulling into the parking area. He climbed out and went round to the tailgate, opening it and pulling out their bags. He held out Keiji’s holdall. “Is this all you’re taking Akaashi, it’s not much?”

“I don’t need much I’ll be living in a tent.” Keiji reached out and took it, his fingers brushing Bokuto’s briefly. 

“Are you sure it’s safe Akaashi, there’s been a lot of terrorist activity in that part of the world lately?”

“You don’t have to worry about my safety Bokuto san; you have a boyfriend to worry about.”

“Not any more Akaashi,” he said heaving his kit bag onto his shoulder and locking the car.

“No?”

“I got dumped Akaashi.” They walked towards the terminal.

“You? Why?”

“He didn’t want to be second best.”

“You never treated him as second best, did you?”

“I tried not to Akaashi but I guess he could just tell.”

“Bokuto san, what could he tell?”

“That I hadn’t moved on Akaashi, not then, not now. Maybe this break will help.”

“Training snipers?”

“Yeah, just concentrating on the job, nothing to distract me. No one to distract me.”

“You mean me. But I’m going away, you could stay?”

“Yeah but everywhere I went there would be reminders. I need to get away completely.”

“I’m sorry Bokuto san.”

“It’s not your fault Akaashi, you can’t change who you are.”

“I suppose not,” Keiji murmured as they stepped through the doors and onto the busy concourse. They looked up at the departure boards and checked their flights then Bokuto went for a couple of coffees whilst Keiji found them somewhere to sit. His flight would be checking in soon, Bokuto’s a half hour later. 

From across the concourse a smartly dressed businessman watched them from behind his paper as he sipped his own coffee. He glanced to his left and nodded briefly.

The tannoy overhead suddenly broke from its pre-set flight announcements to declare, _“Would Akaashi Keiji and Bokuto Koutarou please report to the Homeland Security office at the north east corner of the main concourse, I repeat would Akaashi........”_

“Now what do they want with us?” Bokuto grumbled, pushing himself to his feet and picking up his bag.

“Maybe it’s a case?”

“If it is it had better be a good one, I told them Daishou and Komi were to be called out for the next twelve months.” He dumped their unfinished drinks in the nearest trashcan.

Keiji followed him through the crowds to the corner office and they went inside. Sitting at a desk grinning smugly was Ushijima; a couple of bulky security types guarded the doors.

Keiji gave an irritated sigh, “Ushijima san, what do you want? I told you I was leaving for a dig, Sarukui will be dealing with any remains that need identifying.”

“Yes about that Sensei...” behind them something crackled, and everything went dark.

Keiji was cold, very cold. His eyes flickered painfully open onto nothing. It was dark and smelt damp. He turned his head and a pain shot through the back of his neck. A horribly familiar pain. Almost afraid to confirm his worst nightmare he slipped a stiff and rather numb hand that he’d been lying on up and round his neck. He winced as he felt again two burns to his skin from a taser and his eyes closed. _‘NO! Not again please!’_ his mind screamed and he felt his chest tighten in panic. Then he heard it, a faint scraping noise from the other side of the wall beside him. Looking up again he made out a faint patch of lighter grey. A window? A window to what? The outside? If he could see outside he knew it would be better. What he dreaded was the darkness of the tomb with no way out. 

Shakily he crawled towards the patch of grey, pushing his unsteady legs to hold him up he dragged himself to his feet using the wall as support. Somewhere his brain registered ‘steel’. It was a window of sorts, dirty glass held in a thick frame riveted around the edges as if to say, _‘nothing must get through’_. He wiped away the dirt and peered inside. For it was inside, not the outside he realised. There was another room, larger, rounded like some kind of tank. He understood the window now, an inspection hatch of sorts. But what made him cry out in horror was the figure shackled to the opposite wall, seemingly unconscious of his scream.

Vladov smiled in grim satisfaction. His former accomplice still had a trick up her sleeve. Her next trap was already prepared for a victim, it would take little extra effort to accommodate two and this time when the ransom demand was delivered the two key members of the team wouldn’t be able to help. In fact Vladov was in two minds as to which would be more satisfying, the money or letting them die, thus ridding himself of a persistent irritant. He pursed his lips; no rush, he had a little time to decide that.

She was smarter than she was often given credit for; activating her plan after being jailed gave her a perfect alibi and grounds for appeal. How could she be the serial kidnapper and killer? The real perpetrator was clearly still at large kidnapping victims. He laughed mirthlessly, yes she might not look it but she was a smart woman with the venom of a mamba running through her veins. Cold, calculating, and ruthless he suspected she would actually prefer it if this time her victims died. 

He dialled a number on the prepaid cell phone and held it next to the voice recorder. When he heard the voice at the other end answer, _“Washio Tatsuki,”_ he hit play.

“Bokuto san!”

Bokuto couldn’t hear him. Keiji pummelled his fists against the window in the door he now realised he was looking through. 

_‘Think Keiji!’_ He demanded of his brain. _‘Think!’_ He shook his head; it still felt full of cotton wool, an after effect of the stun gun.

_Door, this was a door._ He ran his hands around the rough frame of it in the gloom. _A door needed a handle. Where was it?_ He felt nothing and cried out in frustration. _All the catches must be on the other side, but why?_ In his disappointment he pressed his body to the door as if he could somehow push it open. Something hard pressed into his stomach and he looked down. A wheel protruded from the centre of the door. He grabbed hold of it and tried to turn it. It wouldn’t move. Swearing under his breath he tried again, it was old and clearly rusted, he needed something to lever it, or someone to help him.

He looked through the port hole again. Taking off one shoe he used it to hammer on the glass, shouting his partner’s name at the top of his voice.

Bokuto moved slightly. Keiji released a breath in relief, he was alive at least. He shouted again and banged on the door as loudly as he could. Bokuto raised his head blinking his eyes and squinting through the gloom. Keiji saw Bokuto focus on him and his mouth moved as he said his name. Then he heard him, “Akaashi!”

Bokuto felt as much as heard a loud clanging noise; it pounded through his head like the mother of all hangovers. Somewhere over it he could hear a voice, a voice that screamed his name. If he could just open his eyes. 

Darkness swam around him, not pitch dark, there was a faint illumination from above somewhere, but it was like peering through smoke. As his eyes accustomed themselves to the gloom his ears zeroed in on the source of the noise. He looked up hissing at the pain in his neck as he did so. A door in the wall opposite. A face, a scared face pressed against the window. A face he knew. His lips silently formed his name then his brain kicked him back to consciousness with a jolt of adrenaline.

“Akaashi!” 

Despite his fear and panic he saw a look of sheer relief cross Keiji’s face as he heard his cry. Now all he had to do was open that door. He pushed himself upright and took an instinctive stride towards the portal only to be jerked to a painful halt by the chain. Looking down he saw it, shackled round each wrist, and looped through a bracket welded to the wall. Gripping the chain in both hands he pulled with all the strength he could drag from his body. The bracket gave a creak. He looked at it closely; even in the dark he could see cracks in the welding. It was a poor job, probably a botched repair. The metals looked different and he knew from working on his old cars that heterogeneous materials didn’t weld well. This time it was in his favour. The bracket was one of several holding a tall pipe to the wall of the tank.

Looking up the line of the pipe he saw a hatch with another dirty glass window. The source of the little light that penetrated. Obviously, some kind of access hatch. A further examination yielded the disheartening traces of an old metal ladder that had been ripped recently from its mountings leaving just a couple of broken lengths of iron rail dangling. No way to climb the smooth steel walls to the hatch now. Maybe he could use the broken rail though? He twisted a piece until it snapped free and then wedged it behind the bracket and pulled. With a screeching, groaning sound the bracket cracked fully across the weld and broke loose. He freed the chain. Now he could reach the door.

He crossed the tank rapidly and took hold of the wheel on his side of the door. Keiji took a grip on his side and together they tried to turn it. It stubbornly refused to budge. Bokuto stepped back and picked up the length of rail. He slotted it through the wheel and braced it against the mechanism; nodding to Keiji they tried again. This time there was a shift, a small one but it was a start. They took a breath and were just about to try again when Keiji’s eyes saw movement behind him.

His eyes widened and he cried out in warning, “Bokuto!” Pointing at the wall behind him.

Bokuto turned, the pipe had fractured where he had ripped the bracket loose and through the crack water had started to gush into the tank. As he watched the pressure of the water opened the crack further and it began to gush down the wall, rapidly spreading across the floor. At that rate he would soon be swimming. 

Two thoughts rushed through his mind, first that the rising water would lift him high enough to reach the hatch; second that if he failed to open it then he would drown.

A third thought sent a cold chill to the pit of his stomach. If they got the door open the two of them would both drown if they were trapped. On the other hand if he left Keiji safe in the side chamber at least he might survive longer on the air in there. Maybe long enough for someone to find him.

As if he could read the thoughts running through Bokuto’s head Keiji banged on the glass. “No Bokuto san, get me out!” he yelled. “If we drown we drown together, please don’t make me watch you die.”

Bokuto hesitated a minute longer, then he braced the rail in the wheel again and shouted at Keiji to pull. The lock turned a little further and he moved the rail to a new position, trying to hold his footing on the flooded floor. Keiji suddenly glanced down, a puddle was forming at his feet, the door was leaking anyway as the water rose above the sill. The old seals had probably perished. He tugged with all his might on the wheel and with an almighty screech of rusting steel it spun. On Bokuto’s side the dogs holding the door closed twisted open and it swung inwards under Keiji’s weight as he fell into his arms.

“Ready Bokuto san?” 

“Yeah, push Akaashi.”

He gritted his teeth as the metal shackle dug into his wrist, “Are you ok Bokuto?” Keiji asked, worried, as he levered on the chain. He nodded. Finally the link began to bend open. He stopped pushing and Bokuto let out a breath as the pain eased. Taking the chain in his other hand he tugged the link free of the shackle. At least now his hands were separated.

He stretched out the other arm. “Ok Akaashi, now the other one.” 

After a few more minutes he was free of the weight of the chain, both wrists were cut and bleeding but that was a small price to pay.

They had checked the side chamber and found another door but it had been welded shut, clearly this place had been designed to incarcerate them securely. Bokuto prayed that if the killer had escaped through the top hatch and taken the ladder with them, then they hadn’t sealed that afterwards as well. 

The water was now up to their thighs and rising fast. As well as being soaked they were both becoming increasingly chilled. Bokuto hoped that if they did get out they didn’t die of hypothermia before they reached safety. He held on to Keiji firmly, both of them clutching a piece of broken ladder which they thought they might need to open the upper hatch. 

“You ok Akaashi?” he asked as he shivered.

“I almost wish the water were rising faster,” Keiji said through chattering teeth, “we wouldn’t have to stand in it so long.”

“I know,” Bokuto said as he hugged him closer trying in vain to keep him warm.

“I have a confession to make Bokuto san,” Keiji muttered into his wet chest.

“You’re not on your deathbed yet Akaashi, no need for that now,” Bokuto chuckled, “and I know you stole my last donut yesterday anyway.”

“It’s not about donuts Bokuto san, it’s something I need you to know...whatever happens.”

“Ok Akaashi get it off your chest then, what are you confessing?”

“I’m glad you got dumped, I’m glad you can’t move on, I should be sorry for you but I’m glad.” Keiji hung his head, ashamed of himself.

Bokuto pulled back slightly, lifted Keiji's chin, and looked into his eyes, feeling his heart rate increasing rapidly in his chest. “Why Akaashi?”

“Because I hope you’ll give me a second chance,” he whispered.

“At what Akaashi?” Bokuto hated himself for grilling him like this but he had to hear him say it. After last time, after he crushed Bokuto’s heart with his words, he needed to hear it from his lips.

“At making us work, a relationship. I want to try and be the man you need because I love you, and if we don’t get out of this I don’t want you to die not knowing.”

He took Keiji’s face in his hands and kissed him soundly before looking deep into his eyes. “Akaashi we _are_ going to get out trust me.”

He smiled, “I trust you Bokuto san, I’ve always trusted you. Konoha called it faith, but it’s not faith, I know how good you are.” 

As he hugged Keiji to him Bokuto felt his body becoming buoyant, soon they would be floating, he looked up at the hatch some eight feet above them and prayed it would open.

The squints were collectively gathered around the screen in Yukie’s darkened office.

“So this is the main concourse and Bokuto and Keiji are sitting here,” Yukie pointed to the two figures. “Now up here is the Homeland Security Office and look at this.” She zoomed in on three figures heading for the office.

“That’s Ushijima, what’s he doing there?” Konoha exclaimed.

“Here’s Keiji and Bokuto after the announcement.” They watched as their friends and colleagues headed for the office and went inside.

“And that’s it?” asked Washio.

“Yes, there is no recording of them leaving that room, at least not by this door. But we do have Ushijima leaving.” Yukie fast forwarded a few minutes and they watched the Chief leave, straightening his tie as he did so. There was no sign of the two heavies that had entered with him.

“And no one has seen them since; all we have is a demand for twenty million dollars.” Washio sighed.

“Which I have ready if you need it,” Konoha said.

“Konoha you know what the Police said, and if this is the same perp. then I’m sure it’s personal.”

“I knew she couldn’t have worked alone,” Konoha muttered. “She could never have dragged Akaashi and me into that car on her own. She had to have an accomplice. My money’s on Ushijima, he’s brown nosed his way to the top. A doofus like him couldn’t have done that without money, or friends.”

“Another conspiracy theory Konoha?” Washio frowned.

“Tell me you don’t suspect him after that,” Konoha nodded at the freeze frame of Ushijima on the screen.

“I can’t, but how do we accuse the Chief of Police of kidnapping his own officer?”

“We show this to someone higher up.” Yukie said.

Washio and Konoha exchanged looks, “Yamiji,” they said together. 

Yukie looked surprised. “But Yamiji’s retired.”

“He may be retired but he still has contacts,” Washio said turning sharply on his heel. “Bring that laptop.”

“Just a moment Washio, look at this guy, do you know who that is?” Konoha pointed at a seated figure in the background of the shot frozen on screen. “He was looking directly at Ushijima as he left the airport.”

Washio turned back. “Vladov,” he breathed. “Run the tape on a bit further Yukie.”

They watched as Vladov spoke into a cell phone, nodded, and rose to his feet heading for the exit doors. Yukie switched screens to another camera outside the building and they saw the Russian approach a large black sedan. As he did so the driver got out and opened the rear door for him.

“That was one of the two guys with Ushijima in that room!” Konoha cried triumphantly. “They are all in on it together.”

Washio nodded. “It certainly looks that way. No wonder Ushijima told Bokuto to drop the investigation into his case. Let’s get this to Yamiji right away.” 

Retired Police Chief Yamiji strolled to his front door, wondering which of his neighbours had a problem this time. They all seemed to think that he could fix their little legal difficulties over property boundaries, speeding tickets or noisy neighbours. He was seriously thinking of moving to another neighbourhood where no one knew him.

He swung open his door and stared, “Washio Sensei, Konoha Sensei and Miss Yukie. I’m assuming your visit has to do with the disappearance of Detective Bokuto and Akaashi Sensei,” he said quietly, stepping back to allow them inside. 

“You know about that?” Washio smiled slightly as they followed him to the living room.

“Very little of what goes on in either the Department or the Museum escapes me, even now Sensei. I’m assuming you need something from me?”

“We’d like you to look at this first sir,” Konoha said, opening the laptop and setting it on a table. “This is the video from the airport security cameras.”

Yamiji watched carefully, his sharp eyes missing nothing. At the end he looked at their anxious faces. “We have had our suspicions about Ushijima for some time, it’s one reason he was given my job.”

“You deliberately put him in a position of power, why?” Konoha sounded astonished.

“Give a man enough rope Konoha Sensei...”

Konoha nodded understanding. “And he’ll hang himself.”

“Quite. I think what we saw there is a suicide. Leave this with me please, and don’t worry I really don’t think Ushijima will be able to stomach a murder charge, he’ll rat out Vladov soon enough. I suggest you start looking for your friends somewhere among Vladov’s large industrial real estate portfolio. I’ll have Komi send you the details. Right now I have calls to make.” He picked up his phone and threw them an impatient look. “Well don’t just stand there, go and find some evidence to analyse!”

Bokuto stretched out his arm, he could just reach the wheel on the hatch door. Keiji was still a few inches short but he could give it a first try, you never knew they might be lucky. He passed his steel rail to Keiji and took hold of the wheel with both hands. Applying as much force as he could whilst floating in the water he tried to turn it. Nothing happened.

“Pass me that rail Akaashi.” he held out his hand and Keiji placed the strip of steel into it. Stretching as high as he could Bokuto slid the metal rod through the wheel and tried to lever it. The rod slipped and squealed but nothing moved.

“No good Akaashi I need to be a bit higher; I can’t get much leverage from down here.”

“That’s ok Bokuto san, in a few minutes we can try together, I can almost reach it now.”

They waited nervously, knowing that the higher they got the less time they had to open the door, or perhaps to live.

Another fifteen minutes and Keiji was able to grip the wheel too. The two of them tried to turn it with their hands. They heard a slight scrape but nothing seemed to move. “Let’s try levering it Akaashi.” Bokuto slotted the two rails in and they each tried levering opposite sides of the wheel. With an ear splitting scream of reluctant metal the wheel began to turn. Bokuto pulled out the rails and passed them to Keiji then he took the wheel in both hands and turned it until the locks came undone. He felt it go slack and he gave it a push with as much force as he could. It flew back with a clang letting in a draught of fresh air and, the most welcome sight either had ever seen, a small patch of blue sky.

Now all they had to do was wait until they floated a little higher. Of course now that they wanted the water to rise quickly it seemed to take hours. 

Finally Bokuto was able to get his arms out of the opening and push his head up into the open air. Where his gaze was met by a pair of bright hazel eyes and a delighted grin.

“Konoha?”

Konoha grabbed Bokuto’s cold hands and helped him drag his numb body out through the hatch into the warm sunshine. “Get Akaashi out Konoha,” Bokuto ordered, his teeth chattering. He looked around, Washio and Yukie were hurrying back from their cars with blankets. 

Konoha lay down and peered through the hole, “Akaashi give me your hands.” He reached out towards him and Keiji did as he ordered. He pulled Keiji slowly through the opening, aided by Washio. The two of them wrapped him in a warm blanket and he settled next to Bokuto, now sporting a fetching multi-coloured wrap of his own.

“How did you find us Konoha?” Bokuto asked.

Konoha laughed, “I gave them 20 million bucks for your address.”

“You broke Police protocol and paid the ransom?” Bokuto asked, amazed that he had such friends.

“Nah just kidding, man. When Yamiji had Ushijima, Vladov, and his henchmen brought in for questioning....”

“Yamiji?” Bokuto interrupted.

“Yeah well we couldn’t really arrest Ushijima ourselves so we went to see Yamiji. Turns out they’d been watching him for a while, they figured he was crooked. Just took your kidnapping to prove it. They gave me his shoes to check for particulates and I found large quantities of magnetite, calcium, and aluminium oxide. They are all found in the catalyst used in the Haber–Bosch process for synthesizing ammonia, a key ingredient of inorganic fertilizers. That led us right here,” he said, as if it were obvious.

“But why Konoha, why here?"

“This is an old disused fertilizer plant that Vladov owns.”

“Vladov? Dimitri Vladov is behind this!” Bokuto exclaimed, “I thought it was Ushijima?"

Washio nodded. “Yes, Yamiji said they’d been watching Ushijima for some while. When they arrested him he soon grassed up Vladov. Konoha checked the chemical signature of the particulates against Vladov’s industrial holdings and found this place. In fact, this is the tank the catalyst was stored in which is why we started searching here.” He glanced at Keiji. “I’m sorry about Ushijima, Akaashi.”

Keiji laughed though his teeth were still chattering. “I’m not, he was just riding on Bokuto’s success which is one of the main reasons I refused to go out with him.”

Bokuto grinned at him. “Thanks, Akaashi.”

“Did they find our luggage Washio?” Keiji asked him.

“Not yet though they haven’t finished looking.”

“Oh. Oh well, never mind.”

“Did you want something from it Akaashi?” Bokuto asked as he hugged him close to his side.

“Mr Reliable is in there,” Keiji murmured.

Bokuto’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You were taking that with you Akaashi?”

“Yes 12 months is a long time Bokuto san and I have needs.”

“Well you won’t be needing that toy again.” Bokuto puffed out his chest.

“No?” Keiji smiled coyly.

“Absolutely, I think you’ll find me quite reliable enough.” Bokuto declared firmly.

“I can’t wait to check for myself.”

“Me neither, Akaashi.”

In her cell, prisoner number 47359-016 seethed in frustration, she never should have trusted that incompetent Russian!


End file.
